In a move widely seen as a major victory for the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) campaign, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation on Sunday requiring warning labels on food and beverage packages that contain dyes and additives.
In April, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a two-year plan to phase out petroleum-based dyes in foods and other products, such as candy.
The Biden administration had previously outlined plans to remove the artificial dye Red No. 3 from food by January 2027 and from medications by 2028. Kennedy’s plan is more comprehensive and demands further action from food and beverage manufacturers.
The new Texas law includes a loophole: it only applies to product labels created on or after January 1, 2027. As a result, companies can avoid the warning label if they do not change or update their packaging.
Texas is targeting 40 artificial colors and additives, including Red Dye 40 and Yellow 5. These ingredients are commonly found in products such as candy, cereals, processed meats, and baked goods.
Food manufacturers must place the warning labels in a prominent, visible area on the packaging. The label must read: “WARNING: This product contains an ingredient that is not recommended for human consumption by the appropriate authority in Australia, Canada, the European Union, or the United Kingdom.”
The European Union began requiring most foods containing artificial dyes to carry a warning label in 2010.
Earlier this year, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) proposed front-of-package labels to alert consumers when a product contains high levels of sodium, saturated fat, or added sugars.
The FDA is currently fast-tracking the review of natural alternatives to synthetic food dyes, such as calcium phosphate, Galdieria extract blue, gardenia blue, and butterfly pea flower extract.
When announcing the petroleum dye ban, Kennedy noted that many U.S. food companies already use alternative dyes and ingredients in products intended for international markets.
**
Download the Supermarket News media kithere
发表回复